Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Amazon just bought the company that makes Stanza (the ebook reader I use on my iPhone). I wonder about what this will mean for Stanza functionality, although they say there won't be any changes. I mainly use Stanza to read books I purchased at Fictionwise (which was recently purchased by Barnes & Noble). Sources: SF Gate, CNet, AppleInsider, PC World, Lexcycle announcment. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, see the CNet review of Stanza's most recent version update to see what it is.)

Check out SF Signal's Tube Bits for today to see Joss Whedon accepting the Bradbury award (also available at SciFi Wire), a link to an interview about Stargate Universe, a link to the Wired issue about JJ Abrams and Star Trek, etc.

As part of the "Save Chuck" campaign, people are encouraging fans to buy Subway sandwiches and use the comment cards to indicate their sponsorship of Chuck was what brought them in. Following a convention in the UK, Zachary Levi & Adam Baldwin led 400 fans to the local Subway and Zachary Levi helped serve them their sandwiches. See SciFi Wire article or YouTube video.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Primeval season 3 starts on BBC America on May 16th, continuing until the end of July (10 episodes).

A new malaria microchip can determine from a blood sample if a patient has malaria and which strain it is, taking only about 30 minutes. This is much faster and more accurate than previous testing, which should allow for better treatment options.

Evan Rachel Wood will be playing the queen of Louisiana in True Blood season 2. Sources: Zap2It, Ausiello Files.

There are rumors (which I doubt are real) that the 4th Twilight movie might not get made because they can't figure out a way to make the subject matter work on-screen. On a better note for the series, Zap2It has a picture of the wolfpack from the set of New Moon.

Listverse lists the Top 20 Films of the 90s. I've seen all but about 7 or 8 (#20 sounds familiar but I don't remember if I saw it or not) and some are come-upon-it favorites that I've seen over and over.

If you liked the classic TV Guide description of the Wizard of Oz ("Girl journeys to psychedelic landscape, kills first person she meets then teams up with others to kill again"), then check out the Uncomfortable Plot Summaries at postmodernbarney.com.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

NASA decided to name the node Tranquility (basically ditching both of the top vote-getters). I like the way they named the treadmill Colbert by making it an acronym: Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill. I wonder if Serenity will end up being a name for something up there too.

SciFi Wire reviews the renewal chances of 11 genre shows. Of these, I've heard today that Sarah Connor Chronicles is definitely dead, and Heroes has been renewed. I'll be really upset (and surprised) if Chuck gets canceled. Given this interview and their recent casting, I'd also be surprised if Fringe doesn't come back. I generally watch Dollhouse, Medium & Eleventh Hour, but it won't break my heart if they don't return. I'm actually surprised Reaper is still listed as having a chance after the staff they've lost (I liked season 1, but all of season 2 is still waiting on the DVR for me to catch up).